The United States government spends more than it takes in, a practice that is illegal in most state governments and harshly criticized when households and businesses do it. After being the rule rather than the exception for most of the past century, why is the country’s deficit spending such a big deal now? Is the U.S. really on the edge of a precipice? Will the deficit-reduction plans under consideration in Washington work? How painful will the remedies be? Asked to rate the issue’s importance on a one-to-10 scale, Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen says that, unequivocally, “it’s a 10. Ultimately, if we don’t get rid of the deficit we are going to have some kind of major economic crisis because of the debt…. We cannot afford to have a cessation of the basic functions of government.” Most experts say that the U.S. is not on the brink of catastrophe — that it can muddle along for years.…